A. The purpose and goal of Neighborhood Watch is to decrease the opportunity for criminal activity to go undetected and to enhance a sense of community among neighbors while improving police-community relationships. For anyone interested in starting a Neighborhood Watch program in their neighborhood, here are some steps to follow:

Begin by asking your neighbors when and if they would like to set up a meeting

Set a meeting date, time, and place and invite all of your neighbors

Invite the Mundelein Police Department to join you

Compile a list of questions and concerns that we can address at the meeting

After the meeting, communicate with neighbors and the police department on a regular basis about suspicious activity

Set additional meetings with your neighbors to remain vigilant about your neighborhoods safety

A. Beware of falling prey to telemarketing fraud schemes and phone scams. Every year, thousands of consumers lose as little as a few dollars to as much as their life savings to telephone scam artists. Everyone is a potential target, because fraud isn’t limited by race, ethnic background, gender, age, education, or income. Avoid becoming a victim by reading the list below of common scams and ways to protect yourself.

Caller ID Spoofing- You receive a call where total strangers pretend to be someone else and they back up their claims with spoofed Caller ID. The scam artists might then ask for money, demand a payment, request your personal information, addresses, or banking info. People report getting calls from 'Secretary of State', grandchildren, law firms, IRS, and government officials.

For example, the caller identified himself as a court official and informed the victim that she is being prosecuted for failing to show up for Jury Duty. When the victim replies that this is the first time she hears that she was summoned for jury duty, the caller suggests that this may be a clerical error in the court system, and he asks for her full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number to check the official summons files. The scam artist informs the victim that this data will be kept confidential, but it is required for cancellation of the outstanding arrest warrant.

Charities & Fundraising Fraud-You may receive calls from scam artists posing as a charity and asking for donations. However, the charity is either non-existent or unaware of the solicitation.

Credit and Loan Offers- In this scenario a scam artist promises a consumer a loan or a credit card on very attractive terms. All the consumer has to do is just send a processing fee, or provide checking account info, and the offer is guaranteed. After the payment is made the company disappears, and the victim is often left with an empty checking account.

Identity Theft & Telemarketing- Scam artists lie on the telephone to get your personal information. They may lie about who they are, claiming that they're from a legitimate company and that you have a problem with your account. Or they may pose as representatives of a bank or government agency and ask you to confirm your billing information. Once they have your personal information, they can use it to commit identity theft charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit cards, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.

Sweepstakes and Lotteries- “Congratulations, it's your lucky day! You've just won $5,000!” If you get a phone call or a letter with a message like this, be skeptical. Scam artists often use the promise of a valuable prize or award to entice consumers to send money, buy overpriced products or services, or contribute to bogus charities. People who fall for their ploys may end up paying more and more for the products — if they ever get them at all.

Ways to Protect Yourself:

Never give out your credit card, checking account, or Social Security number on the phone

Always ask for written information before you agree to anything

Reduce telemarketing calls by registering your number on the National Do Not Call Registry-Beware this may not eliminate all calls by scam artists.

Look out for these frequently used “lines”:

“You’ve been specially selected to hear this offer.”

“You’ll get a wonderful free bonus if you buy our product.”

“You’ve won big money in a foreign lottery.”

“You must send money right away.”

“We’ll just put the shipping and handling charges on your credit card.”

A. When calling 9‐1‐1, the telecommunicator will be asking you a series of questions depending upon what the emergency is. The first series of questions that you will be asked is:

What it the location of the emergency?

What is your telephone number?

What is your name?

What is the reason for the 9‐1‐1 call?

Sometimes we know that citizens may be frustrated with all of the questions that are asked, but there is a reason. The questions that we ask and the information we receive aids the 9‐1‐1 telecommunicator in sending a proper police, ambulance and/or fire response. There may be occurrences where it sounds like the telecommunicator may not be paying attention to what you are saying, as there is dead silence on the phone. Please remember that when the telecommunicator talks on the radio, the telephone caller will not hear this conversation. The telecommunicator is still able to hear the telephone caller and will respond back to you when they are done talking on the radio. Please be patient with our telecommunicators as we are here to get help to you as soon as possible. WHY THE 9‐1‐1 TELECOMMUNICATORS ASK CERTAIN QUESTIONS We ask questions pertaining to the location and descriptions of the victims involved. We want to ensure that responders are able to locate you, so we may ask for directions. We ask questions relating to the type of call we receive. Please note that during the normal course of the 9‐1‐1 call, emergency services are dispatched to the location of the incident once we have verified the location and nature of your emergency. We do not delay the process of dispatching emergency personnel by asking you “so many questions.” The 5 W’s that may be asked include:

WHAT are you reporting? The telecommunicator must understand the call and the type of response that is to be sent.

WHERE did this happen? Address of residence (house or apartment); business (name); alley; under the stairs; on the porch; on the balcony; alley next to; etc.

WHEN did this happen? Time element (in‐progress; just occurred; happen four hours ago)

WHO is involved (reporting person, victim, suspect, etc.)?

WHY did this happen (any suspect information)?

WEAPONS involved?

The telecommunicator must get all of the pieces of the puzzle together. The pieces of this puzzle are the questions and answers to those questions as noted above. They must be able to determine what is actually occurring so that we can get help to you as soon as possible.